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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Beck Owen’s second day in the state 4-A tournament at Pinehurst Country Club was kind of crummy. But there wasn’t anything the Davie senior could have done about that – the weather was awful.

With heavy rain putting a damper on his first state tournament appearance, Owen withdrew after 15 holes. But on day one on May 13, he shot an 8-over 80 to tie for 70th out of 100 players. He was 7-over through 15 when the rain was just too much. He finished 15-over for his 33 completed holes.

“He withdrew because of the rain and delays,” coach Scott Spillman said. “(On day two) his tee time was at 8:51. He got two shots in before they blew the horn, and they didn’t restart until 11:15.  They restarted in a heavy downpour and then steady rain/drizzle until they pulled them back off around 3:30. He had three holes to go and it didn’t look like they would get back out til around 6 p.m. at the earliest.”

Beck’s greatest moment came in the rain on No. 13.

“He flew the green with his second shot and was almost embedded in the pine needles above a bunker with a downhill lie, like he was standing on the banks of Talladega,” Spillman said. “He had thought about taking an unplayable, but there was literally nowhere to go. He was able to get his next shot out and clear the bunker, leaving him a decent look at par.”

Overall, Beck’s senior season was about everything he could have hoped for. He finished fifth in the Central Piedmont Conference, he helped Davie capture the league title for the first time in 27 years and he became just the third different War Eagle to qualify for the state in the last 10 years.

“Beck worked hard on his game and deserved to be representing Davie in the states,” Spillman said. “He was really striking the ball well all tournament, even in the unfavorable conditions. His score was not a good indicator of how well he played. He just couldn’t get a feel of the greens and didn’t see many birdie putts go in.”